


noticeable

by hawksonfire



Category: Marvel
Genre: Fluff, Humor, M/M, Soft Boys, Winterhawk Wonderland Gift Exchange, competent clint barton
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-23
Updated: 2019-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-11 13:33:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21919555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hawksonfire/pseuds/hawksonfire
Summary: In which Clint notices Bucky. A lot.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Clint Barton
Comments: 49
Kudos: 156
Collections: Winterhawk Wonderland





	noticeable

**Author's Note:**

  * For [halfwheeze](https://archiveofourown.org/users/halfwheeze/gifts).

> I hope you enjoy! This was fun to write, I'm a sucker for my boys being soft. Happy Holidays!

**Clint**

The thing is - okay. The thing is Clint doesn’t actually think anyone’s noticed. And he doesn’t blame them, not really - it’s not like Bucky’s going out of his way to advertise it. He might be going out of his way to keep it a secret, now that Clint thinks about it. 

Anyway, Clint notices things. Most people, when they see the frankly violent shade of purple he wears and the bandaids covering most of his body and the way he falls up the stairs sometimes, most people kinda just... write him off. And Clint’s fine with that, mostly. It comes in handy when people underestimate you, and the thing with Clint is that he’s got a lot more to be underestimated on than most people do.

Like - okay. Clint can speak eight languages fluently and get by in another five, he’s proficient in a stupid amount of hand-to-hand combat styles, and he can take a pistol apart and put it back together faster than you could say “Lucky’s the best dog.” 

And yet it still surprises his teammates - all save Natasha - when he manages to pour himself a cup of coffee without burning himself. And he gets it. Clint downplays his abilities out of the field because it’s exhausting to have to be that _ on _ all the time. He brought this on himself. He knows that. Really, he’s the only soft and squishy human on the team anyway - well, there’s Tasha, but she’d kill him if he called her soft _ or _ squishy, so. 

Despite, objectively, being the weakest one on the team, one of Clint’s strengths is that he notices things. He notices that Steve likes to sit in the corner of the couch when they have movie nights, he notices that Tony doesn’t like the smell of a certain whiskey - he notices. And so, a few months after Steve brought Bucky Barnes back to the Tower, Clint starts noticing things. 

He notices that Steve is in the gym less in the middle of the night, he notices that Bruce actually shows up to a few team dinners, and he notices that slowly but surely, Bucky Barnes starts to take care of them. The first time that Clint thanks him for recording the latest episode of Dog Cops (Clint missed it because one of his tenants had a busted pipe and he had to fix it) Bucky looks confused. Like he wasn’t expecting to be thanked for anything.

“You’re... welcome?” He says, blinking. He doesn’t stick around long after that, disappearing into his room and closing the door behind him. After that, Clint resolves to keep thanking him for all the shit he does around the Tower because no one should be that confused over a simple thank you.

At first, it’s because Bucky takes care of them and no one takes care of him. Clint brings him hot chocolate and invites him to movies and makes sure Bucky’s eating enough. After a while, it just sorta becomes habit.

It’s not until Tasha pulls him aside one day and says, “You’re hovering,” that he realizes what he’s doing. 

“I’m not hovering,” Clint objects, still watching Bucky grimace as Steve snaps his ankle back into place.

“You’re like a mother hen,” she says, amused, “Making sure he doesn’t hurt himself.”

“I’m just -” Clint fumbles for a reason. He comes up empty. “Aw, feelings, no,” he sighs. Tasha pets his head gently.

“For what it’s worth, I’m pretty sure he likes it,” she says, then walks away and pulls Steve into a conversation. 

Clint walks over to Bucky and crouches down beside him. “You okay?” He asks.

“Should be,” Bucky grimaces, glaring at his ankle, “Doesn’t hurt or anything, just annoying.” He moves to stand up but Clint presses his hands to Bucky’s shoulders, keeping him still. 

“What are you doing?”

“Standing up,” Bucky says dryly. “I need to shower.”

“You’re supposed to keep weight off of a broken ankle,” Clint says.

“Serum’ll fix it,” Bucky says, dismissing his concerns. He makes to stand up again and Clint shakes his head. 

“Nope.” He scoops Bucky into his arms and starts walking towards the stairs.

“Barton, what’re you -”

“Your place?” Clint interrupts. “For your shower?”

“Put me down.”

“Nope,” Clint grins. “You need to keep weight off your ankle, and it’s not like you’re all that heavy, Bucko.”

Bucky growls at him. “Seriously, Clint, put me down.”

“C’mon, Buck,” Clint tries softly, “Let me take care of you for once. You take care of us all the time, let me return the favour.”

Something flashes across Bucky’s face, gone before Clint can figure out what it was. “Right,” he says, “Returning the favour.” They make it up to Bucky’s apartment and Clint sets him down on the couch, sticking a pillow under his ankle to keep it elevated.

“Do you need anything else?” he asks awkwardly, standing to one side of the sofa shifting on his feet. “I can get you water. Or if you’re hungry, I can order you food. Or -”

“Clint!” Bucky interrupts. “You’re fussing.”

Clint deflates, slumping onto the couch beside Bucky. “Sorry,” he mumbles, “I don’t know how to do this.”  
  
“Do what?”

“Take care of people,” Clint explains. “I’ve always been better off on my own, never learned how to be nurturing or whatever.”

“You’re doing a pretty good job of it right now,” Bucky points out.

“You’re just saying that to make me feel better,” Clint sighs.

“A little,” Bucky admits. “But you aren’t fucking it up completely. It was a good idea for me to stay off my foot.”

“I’ve broken my ankle so many times I’ve lost count,” Clint says, matter-of-factly. “I’m practically the expert on broken ankles.”

“Teach me your ways, oh wise and ancient one,” Bucky says, voice solemn but eyes laughing.

“Well, firstly - a broken ankle means you can’t do anything yourself.” Clint turns to face Bucky, making himself comfortable on the couch. “You can’t walk, so you gotta get other people to do things for you. Get you food, change the TV channel, that sort of thing.”

“And this... works,” Bucky says, lifting an eyebrow in disbelief.

Clint nods. “Oh yeah. On everyone except Tasha. Just play up the pitiful aspect of not being able to move, people eat it up. They’ll do whatever you want.”

Bucky hums thoughtfully. “There’s one problem with your plan, sweetheart.”

“Oh?” Clint asks. “What’s that?”

“I heal too fast for this to work,” Bucky points out.

“Oh,” Clint says. “I dunno, I’d probably still do whatever you want.” Fuck.

Bucky grins at him. “Does that include fussin’ over me until I feel better?” He reaches out and grabs Clint’s shirt, pulling him closer.

“Probably,” Clint says, mouth dry. “Pretty likely -” He’s cut off when Bucky pulls him into a kiss, kissing him until he’s breathless and then letting him go. 

“And if I want more of that?” Bucky asks cautiously.

Clint nods furiously, already reaching out to pull Bucky close again. “Definitely. Definitely more of that. Whenever you want it.”


End file.
